Jeremy Adelman
(Associate Director of Advancement, The George Washington University)

Talking Points

At George Washington University, alumni are becoming "angel investors", making personal investment in early stage companies. By matching alumni investors with faculty, student and alumni-run companies, the value creation stays within George Washington and sets the stage for significant gifts to the University, equity in the new company, and commercialization of technologies developed in University labs. This type of activity engages some of the most affluent members of the alumni body in a sustained and often lucrative way. As a result, our alumni come back and remain committed to our school.

Bio

Jeremy L. Adelman is the Associate Director of Advancement at The George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. During the 10 years he has spent as a manager and fundraiser in universities and nonprofit organizations, he has worked primarily with high tech business leaders and entrepreneurs as volunteers and donors. Notable accomplishments have been building an alumni angel investors network, and bringing in multiple million dollar donations from corporations and individuals. Mr. Adelman holds both an MBA from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, and an MA in Nonprofit Professional Leadership from Brandies University, as well as a BA in Philosophy from the University of Utah.

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Ali Andalibi
(Program Director, SBIR/STTR, National Science Foundation - NSF)

Talking Points

Our nation’s universities are the often the birthplaces of transformative ideas that can be of great benefit to society. Too often however, the flow of these important discoveries towards the marketplace is slow and indeed many times, the discoveries never leave the university. The goal of this Summit is to bring together university decision-makers and venture capitalists in order to find ways of accelerating the movement university-based findings from laboratories into start-ups.

Bio

Dr. Ali Andalibi is a molecular biologist and geneticist by training with extensive experience in both academia and industry. He received his PhD from the UCLA department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and later joined the faculty in the UCLA department of Medicine. After leaving UCLA he was involved in several early stage biotechnology companies. He then joined the House Ear Institute (HEI), where he is the Director of New Technology and Project Development. He is also an adjunct Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology, at the University of Southern California, School of Medicine. Dr. Andalibi is currently on leave from HEI/USC and serving as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation.

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Daniel Behr
(Director Business Development, Harvard)

Talking Points

My general topic will be about how at Harvard we are changing the paradigm for how we get potential start-up opportunities "ready" for investors. This includes a proactive entrepreneurial start-up team within the university, translational development funds, and new forms of collaboration with VCs.

Bio

Daniel Behr is currently Director of Business Development at Harvard University's Office of Technology Development. He is a proven senior business leader with 20 years of experience delivering value as co-founder of technology companies, as a general partner in a seed-stage venture fund, and as a director and advisor of numerous start-ups. He was co-founder of IN USA which became a $10M world leader in ozone instrumentation; Compact Instruments, which developed the world's first hand-held mass spectrometer and was acquired by MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) in 2000;. Arradiance, which is developing an electron-beam source for use in semiconductor lithography (funded by top-tier VC funds in November 2004); and Growth Point Life Sciences, a firm focused on accelerating the commercialization of intellectual property assets. His seed-stage angel fund, Seed Partners, was founded in 1999 and is fully invested in a portfolio of start-up companies. Daniel is a Director of Nutfield Technology (industrial lasers) and an advisor to companies commercializing new medical devices, instruments, nano technologies, and software products. Daniel earned an MBA with Distinction from the Harvard Business School and an engineering degree with Highest Honors from Georgia Tech, and is fluent in Spanish and German.

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Phil Bronner
(Novak Biddle Venture Partners)

Talking Points

What Universities can do to make tech transfer and commercialization better, and how to improve University relations with VCs and angels.

Bio

Philip Bronner joined Novak Biddle Venture partners in 1999 and is focused on investments in information technology. Prior to joining Novak Biddle he was founder of a media technology company. In addition, he served as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. in New York advising high-tech clients on corporate strategy and worked as a software engineer at IBM. At Novak Biddle, Phil serves as a director for Approva, Logic Library, Vision Chain and Securinex. He also leads Novak Biddle's investment in Panasas and is a board observer for 4GL School Solutions. Past board observer seats include: AnswerLogic (acquired by Primus), and NEW Customer Services Company. Phil earned a BS in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University; a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Law; and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.Phil currently serves on the Alumni Advisory Board for Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science and is a board member for In2Books, a Washington, DC-based reading and literacy program.

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Tom Byers
(Founder/Faculty Director, Stanford Technology Ventures Program - STVP, Stanford University)

Talking Points

Entrepreneurship education is spreading rapidly across the entire campus of many universities providing opportunities for all majors to learn about innovation and related subjects. Among many other benefits, it can also play a role in successfully creating university startups.

Bio

Tom Byers is a professor at Stanford University where he focuses on technology entrepreneurship education. He is founder and a faculty director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), which serves as the entrepreneurship center for the engineering school. STVP includes the Mayfield Fellows work/study program, Educators Corner website of teaching resources, and a set of global Roundtable on Entrepreneurship Education conferences. Tom is also a faculty director of the AEA/Stanford Executive Institute, a general management program for technology executives. Tom is co-author of a popular textbook called "Technology Ventures: From Idea to Enterprise" published by McGraw-Hill. Tom also holds visiting professor appointments at the London Business School and University College London. Tom currently serves on the governing boards of Reactivity, MyThings, and Flywheel Ventures. In addition, he serves on advisory councils of the American Society for Engineering Education's Entrepreneurship Division, Harvard Business School's California Research Center, and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) for inner-city youth. Previously, Tom lectured at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Tom has a range of business experience including executive vice president of Symantec Corporation and the founding president of Slate Corporation. Tom started his professional career at Accenture. For his efforts at Stanford, Tom holds an endowed chair known as the McCoy University Fellow in Undergraduate Education. Tom has received its Gores Award for excellence in teaching (the university's highest award) and its Tau Beta Pi Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching (the engineering school's highest award). He is a recipient of three recent national teaching awards: the ASEE Kauffman Award for excellence in engineering and technology entrepreneurship education, the USASBE Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year Award, and the Leavey Award for excellence in private enterprise education. In 2004, STVP was named the NASDAQ Entrepreneurship Center of the Year. In the past, Tom was named Northern California Entrepreneur of the Year in Ernst & Young's competition and was given the Academy of Management's Innovation in Entrepreneurship Teaching Award and Price-Babson's Appel Prize for bringing entrepreneurial vitality to academia. Tom holds a BS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research and an MBA from UC Berkeley. He also earned a PhD in Business Administration (Management Science) at UC Berkeley.

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Andrew Cittadine
(CEO, American BioOptics)

Talking Points

I will plan to talk about my experiences as a cofounder or CEO of three separate startups based on university technologies including company formation, financing, development, and successful acquisition.

Bio

Andrew is a successful entrepreneur with ten years experience in senior management roles in early stage technology companies. He is a co-founder and CEO of American BioOptics, a medical device startup commercializing optical backscattering technology from Northwestern University and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare for population-wide screening of colon cancer. Previously, Andrew co-founded Sensant Corp, a Silicon Valley startup that developed diagnostic quality 3D ultrasound based on silicon MEMS (micro electro-mechanical systems) technology from Stanford University. Andrew helped lead Sensant, a National Science Foundation SBIR Award recipient, through development and acquisition by Siemens in June 2005. He has also served as Interim CEO for SonarMed, an Indianapolis venture-backed firm that is commercializing an intensive care airway device developed at Purdue University. Andrew holds a BA in History and a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA with distinction from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

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Rob Clark
(Associate Dean of Research, Duke University)

Talking Points

Economic growth in the United States has benefited greatly from innovation. As manufacturing and engineering services are outsourced beyond the geographic boundaries of our nation, our primary contribution to economic growth, here and abroad, is derived from innovation. Universities play a critical role in generating intellectual property and spawning new technologies. Our challenge in the near-term is to enable this process and increase the efficiency from the conception of the idea in the inventor's laboratory to commercialization.

Bio

Dr. Robert Clark, Thomas Lord Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University, has served as Sr. Associate Dean for Research in the Pratt School of Engineering for the past seven years. He conducts research in the field of dynamic systems, measurement and control, and his current focus is aimed at the development of new instruments for the exploration of single-molecule mechanics and for the deposition and control of materials at the nanoscale, required to enable an industry in bionanomanufacturing. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Structural Acoustics Branch of the NASA-Langley Research Center, DARPA, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the National Institutes of Health, Sandia National Laboratories, Scientific Applications International Corporation, the Lord Corporation, and CSA Engineering. He has been recognized with several awards for his work including the 1998 R. Bruce Lindsay Award from the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), the 1997 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the 1996 NASA Group Achievement Award, and a 1995 NSF CAREER Award. He is a fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Acoustical Society of America. Dr. Clark holds several patents and has authored more than 200 manuscripts in his field of research. He is active in several external professional organizations and recently served on the NC Governor's Task Force on Nanotechnology and North Carolina's Economy. He has also served as a consultant to numerous external corporations, providing technical expertise as well as supporting fund-raising from angel investors and grant support through SBIR and STTR programs. He has been involved in a number of start-up companies and is currently a founder of SparkIP. He has raised more than $14M in support of his academic research program at Duke University, and during his term as Sr. Associate Dean, contributed to the tripling of the research expenditures in the Pratt School of Engineering.

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Catherine Cotell
(In-Q-Tel)

Talking Points

As a strategic investor (as opposed to a traditional VC firm) focused on mission-impact technologies for the U.S. Intelligence Community, In-Q-Tel engages with universities on several fronts. Recognizing that universities are vibrant centers for innovation, we rely on universities to map the course of future technology breakthroughs that the intelligence community will want and need to implement. We identify emerging technologies that are ripe for spinout into new companies and we search for technologies that may fill gaps in what our portfolio is delivering to the intelligence community. I will discuss the mechanisms In-Q-Tel uses to nurture and deliver novel capabilities to the intelligence community by catalyzing the commercialization of university research.

Bio

Dr. Catherine M. Cotell is Vice President for Strategy, University and Early Stage Investments at In-Q-Tel, the strategic investor for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. intelligence community. Dr. Cotell's role at In-Q-Tel is to search for emerging technologies at universities and federal laboratories and to construct a strategy for their commercialization in order to deliver new capabilities to the intelligence community from sustainable commercial companies. Dr. Cotell joined In-Q-Tel in mid-2003, after thirteen years with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). As head of Technology Transfer at NRL from 1999-2003, she evaluated, managed and marketed NRL's intellectual property portfolio, negotiated Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and patent license agreements, and facilitated collaborations and interactions between NRL researchers and the commercial sector. Dr. Cotell's own research in surface modification and thin film coatings for electronic, optical and biomedical application has received international acclaim and she holds seminal patents in the field of laser deposition of biocompatible coatings for medical implants. Dr. Cotell started her career as a member of technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories. She holds PhD and SM degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in metallurgy and materials science and engineering, respectively, and a B.A in chemistry and mathematics from Wellesley College.

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Keith Crandell
(ARCH Venture Partners)

Talking Points

I will talk about sharing a venture investor perspective on best practices for commercializing technology from university research.

Bio

Mr. Crandell is responsible for ARCH investments in Apropos Technology (APRS - acquired by Syntellect, Inc.), ALIS (acquired by Carl Zeiss NTS Beteligungs GmbH), Ahura, Crystal-IS, Teach.com (acquired by Intellinex, Inc.), CelebrateExpress (BDAY), NEON Software (NEON - acquired by Sybase, Inc.), and Alfalight among others. Mr. Crandell played a key role in the formation and initial funding round of Eichrom Industries, Nanophase Technologies (NANX), and Illinois Superconductor (ISCO), while focused on innovations from Argonne National Laboratory. Mr. Crandell previously served as Senior Manager with ARCH Development Corporation with responsibilities for ARCH Venture Fund I's activities at Argonne National Laboratory. Prior to joining ARCH in 1987, Mr. Crandell worked with Hercules, Inc., a specialty chemical and polymer company. Mr. Crandell serves as Chairman of the Treasurer's Fund, a fund-of-funds focused on Illinois private equity partnerships. He also serves as a Director of the NVCA and as Chairman of the IVCA.

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Robert Cresanti
(Under Secretary for Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce)

Talking Points

I will provide my perspective on the tack that some states have taken to shift their economic development strategy away from relying solely on attracting businesses to the state to one which emphasizes growing innovative and entrepreneurial companies. Texas is one example. They are working to leverage and grow world-class research at their universities as well as assist small, early-stage technology companies in accelerating commercialization of new, high-potential technology developments into the marketplace through the $200 million Texas Emerging Technology Fund established in 2005. Other states are employing a similar strategy, but any initiative of this nature in Texas, focused on building innovative capacity from the ground up, is bound to offer great economic development potential, considering the resources and leadership commitment to get it off the ground.

Bio

Robert C. Cresanti became Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology and chief of the Technology Administration (TA) in March 2006. His top priority is to promote United States competitiveness in the global economy by examining issues and promoting national policies to exploit and maximize the benefits of U.S. technological progress. Cresanti serves on a number of executive branch policy councils, including the President's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC); the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST); the American Health Information Community (AHIC) that is focused on creating electronic health records for all Americans by 2014; and the federal Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Intra-governmental Council. He is particularly interested in understanding barriers to nanotechnology commercialization, while recognizing that R&D continues to spawn new technologies and applications. Mr. Cresanti was nominated by President George W. Bush in November 2005, and took the oath of office in March 2006, following Senate confirmation. Earlier, he served as Vice President of Public Policy at the Business Software Alliance, and as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Information Technology Association of America. He served as Staff Director for the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, and as Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Financial Services and Technology for the Senate Banking Committee. Mr. Cresanti received his B.A. degree from Austin College and his J.D. degree from Baylor University.

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Andrew Csinger
(University of British Columbia University Industry Liaison)

Talking Points

I will discuss the role of UBC in the CCSIP and the provide the perspective of a Canadian university working with the University of California.

Bio

Andrew Csinger has held a variety of executive management roles and advises senior management on technology transfer, market and corporate development, and mergers and acquisitions in the high technology arena. Most recently, Andrew was EVP of Product Strategy and Development at Dategrity Corp., a spin-out from Votehere Corporation, where strong privacy technology is being developed to meet rapidly emerging compliance needs and enablement opportunities. He is a founder of Cogneto (www.cogneto.com) and advisor to White Noise Labs (www.whitenoiselabs.com) and Memotrax Music Systems (www.memotrax.com). Dr. Csinger is Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of British Columbia, and also works with the Cognitive Systems Group, where he divides his attention between fostering a culture of entrepreneurialism and lecturing on the subject of Digital Trust. Andrew was Senior VP and CIO of Group Telecom from 1998 to 2002. GT's successful initial public offering took place in March 1999. During this period, GT became Canada's most successful Competitive Local Exchange Carrier, with 400,000 kilometers of fibre, 1500 employees in offices from coast to coast, a quarter billion revenue run rate and over a billion dollars in financing. In 1998, he developed and operated the first PKI Certification Authority and Repository to be licensed under Washington State Digital Signature legislation. This seminal work influenced the later adoption of federal U.S. law (the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act of 2000, or "E-Sign Act"), and was an early model for the adoption by other states of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). In 1996, he founded Xcert Software Inc., a technology leader in the emerging business of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Xcert was acquired by RSA Technologies Inc. President of Interspect since 1994, Dr. Csinger implemented projects for medium to large size corporations including the Canadian Bankers Association and the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Andrew has also provided strategic technology and management consulting services to a variety of startups. In addition to other corporate development work, Andrew is filing patents in the payments and communications arenas, and authoring a book called Managing for Knowledge, Knowledge for Management. Andrew received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Computer Science from UBC and a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from McGill University. A Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Post-Doctoral Fellow at Simon Fraser University, and a visiting scholar at the German Center for Artificial Intelligence in Saarbrucken, his work on artificial intelligence techniques has appeared in journals and conferences around the world. His research focused on user-modeling by computer in intelligent multimedia interfaces. Dr. Csinger is regularly invited to speak at conferences and events, about technology and its effects on society and business.

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Guy Diedrich
(Vice Chancellor, Texas A&M University System)

Talking Points

I will address the challenges and benefits associated with integrating commercialization as a necessary part of the research process in universities. Texas A&M recently amended the system tenure policies at our nine universities to allow for the commercialization of intellectual property to be considered in tenure decisions. The A&M System also has combined federal relations, research and commercialization under a single office. The purpose of this strategic move is to create a seamless process of requesting research funds with performing that research and commercializing the most promising innovations. Instead of operating under three separate groups, Texas A&M is integrating the three functions into a single efficient research and commercialization process.

Bio

Guy Diedrich is a Vice Chancellor for the Texas A&M System andis responsible for managing the Office of TechnologyCommercialization (OTC). The OTC commercializes the most promising intellectual properties resulting from the $620 million dollars of annual research funds awarded to the nine universities,seven agencies and health science center that comprise the Texas A&M System. Mr. Diedrich served for eleven years as President and CEO of GRA Inc., a software development and consulting company that he co-founded and grew from a start-up to a firm employing more than 130 professionals. GRA was acquired in 1998 by a publicly-traded technology company. He also served as President of Austin Technology Ventures, a firm that invests in software, hardware and biotechnology companies. Mr. Diedrich is a member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine, Texas Life Science Center, American Trauma Society, Texas A&M College of Science, Royal Economic Society, and Society of Business Economists. He is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Cambridge where he is researching the economic value of trust in organizations as a member of King's College. He is a reviewer for the Cambridge Journal of Economics, and is a published author in the fields of medical psychology and cost accounting.

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Ryan Drant
(NEA)

Bio

Ryan joined NEA in 1996 and became a general partner in 2004. He specializes in healthcare investments in the medical device, specialty pharmaceutical and healthcare services sectors. Present board memberships include Acureon, BENU, Concentric Medical, Esprit Pharma, ExploraMed III, ForHealth Technologies, Intrinsic Therapeutics, NeoTract, PatientKeeper, ProVation Medical, Spine Wave, Viacor and Vibrynt. He has previously led NEA investments in and served on the boards of ESP Pharma, Inc. which was acquired by Protein Design Labs, Inc. in 2005 for $500 million; Proxima Therapeutics, Inc. which was acquired by Cytyc Corporation in 2005 for approximately $200 million; Fox Hollow Technologies (Nasdaq: FOXH); and Provation Medical which was acquired by Wolters Kluwer. He also co-managed NEA’s investment in Xcel Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Valeant Inc. in 2005 for $280 million. Prior to joining NEA, Ryan was with Alex. Brown & Sons where he worked in the healthcare investment banking group. Previously, he worked in the San Francisco Office of Arthur Andersen & Co. Ryan received a BA in Political Science from Stanford University.

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Jeff Fagnan
(Atlas Venture)

Bio

Jeff Fagnan is a Partner in the technology group at Atlas Venture. He focuses on emerging companies in enterprise and internet infrastructure as well as alternative energy technologies / advanced material science. Jeff also works closely with the MIT, Harvard University, Boston University and other innovation engines, to commercialize technologies developed in technical labs. Before joining Atlas Venture, Jeff was a Partner with Seed Capital Partners. While at Seed Capital, Jeff was the lead and founding investor in DataPower Technologies, Way Systems, and Polychromix. Prior to Seed Capital Partners, Jeff built strategic and operational solutions for communications, media and technology clients at Booz Allen & Hamilton. Before Booz Allen, he served in management roles at Nortel Networks in a variety of M&A and strategy roles, where he focused on broadband convergence and Internet initiatives. Since joining Atlas Venture, Jeff led the investment in DataPower Technologies which was acquired by IBM in 2005. He currently sits on the Boards of AEB, Bit9, Veracode and Songbird. He also led the firm's investment in Mascoma. Jeff received his M.B.A. in Finance and Operations, with distinction, from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester and a B.S. in Management and Mathematics from the University of Alaska.

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Fred Farina

Talking Points

I will talk about generally about the Caltech model of technology transfer and particular our model for creating new startups. Caltech’s OTT was established in 1995 and in its first decade 80 new startups were created. I will elaborate on OTT’s active role in fostering entrepreneurship and helping faculty and other researchers to connect with investors and entrepreneurs to form new companies.

Bio

Fred Farina is Assistant Vice President for Technology Transfer at the California Institute of Technology. His responsibilities include evaluating inventions at Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA), supervising patent prosecution and portfolio management, negotiating licensing deals with industry and assisting Caltech/JPL entrepreneurs with the creation of startups. Prior to joining the office, Fred worked for eight year as a Research Engineer in the GPS field. He subsequently joined a law firm where he prosecuted patent applications on various high technologies before the US and European patent offices. Fred holds a "Diplôme d'Ingénieur" in Electrical Engineering from the Institute National des Sciences Appliquees, Lyon, France, and is a graduate of Caltech from which he received his M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1992. He is a registered U.S. patent agent.

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Nariman Farvardin
(Dean, University of Maryland)

Talking Points

I will be talking about the connection between "globalization" and increasing importance of developing "structured programs in universities to instill a culture of entrepreneurship among the faculty and students." This is particularly important at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels where students engage in developing new technologies.

Bio

Nariman Farvardin became Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Maryland, College Park in July 2007. He is also a professor of electrical and computer engineering. He was chair of the university's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering during 1994-2000 and dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering during 2000-2007. As dean, Dr. Farvardin promoted the development of innovative educational programs especially in the areas of undergraduate research and technology entrepreneurship; reorganized infrastructure to improve service and productivity; and developed a strong public awareness drive to communicate the school's strengths and accomplishments to its many constituencies, resulting in increased partnerships with industry and strong philanthropic support. During his tenure, external research expenditures increased from $70 million to over $110 million. In the same period, the school received two landmark gifts: a $31 million gift to establish a department of bioengineering and a $30 million to establish a scholarship endowment-the largest gifts in the history of the School and University; constructed a state-of-the-art engineering building; built strong programs in nanotechnology placing the University of Maryland as one of the strongest in the nation in nanotechnology education and research; and launched, with the School of Public Policy, an innovative Master of Engineering and Public Policy program to produce engineers skilled in policy issues. His research interests include information theory and coding; multimedia signal compression and transmission; high-speed communication networks, and wireless networks. He has more than 150 technical papers in archival journals and conference proceedings. Dr. Farvardin was the Associate Editor for Quantization, Speech/Image Coding of the IEEE Transactions on Communications during 1986-90 and the Associate Editor for Source Coding of the IEEE Transactions on Information Theory during 1992-95. He chaired the technical program committee of the IEEE Speech Coding Workshop, Annapolis, Maryland, 1995. A Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Dr. Farvardin is a widely respected researcher in communications and information theory. Among his honors, he has been awarded the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award; the George Corcoran Award for Outstanding Contributions to Electrical Engineering Education; and the Invention of the Year Award (Information Sciences), from the University of Maryland. In January 2003, he was selected by The Washington Post as one of the "Five to Watch in 2003."Dr. Farvardin was the co-founder and chairman of the board of Zagros Networks, a venture-funded fabless semiconductor company in Rockville, MD, developing technologies focusing on quality of service provisioning in packet switched networks. He is currently a member of the board of directors and advisory/technical board of several companies, as well as educational and non-profit organizations. Farvardin received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1979, 1980 and 1983, respectively.

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Steve Ferguson
(Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, National Institutes of Health - NIH)

Talking Points

As a healthcare agency and a major sponsor of university research, NIH is also interested in accelerating the pace of how such research results reach the public. University-based biomedical start-ups should not overlook the benefits of interacting with the NIH and other federal labs, not the least because of non-dilutive funding, technical assistance, opportunities for collaboration, new technology sourcing or even as new customer.

Bio

Steven M. Ferguson currently serves in the NIH Office of Technology Transfer as the Director of the Division of Technology Development and Transfer, the patent & licensing group for NIH and FDA technologies. Prior to joining NIH Office of Technology Transfer in 1990, Mr. Ferguson served in marketing and management positions in biomedical firms subsequent to being a scientist at the National Cancer Institute. His healthcare experience has also included work as Director of Marketing and Public Relations for a rural 70-bed hospital. Registered to practice before the USPTO, Mr. Ferguson also holds Master's Degrees in Business Administration (George Washington University) and Chemistry (University of Cincinnati) as well as Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry (Case Western Reserve University). Mr. Ferguson has been an economic reviewer for Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) as well as the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) grant programs and is an instructor for both the USDA Graduate School and the NIH FAES Graduate School where he also the department chair for the new Certificate in Technology Transfer Program. Mr. Ferguson was also the Susan T. and Charles E. Harris Visiting Lecturer at the Watson School of Biological Sciences at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and has published articles on licensing and technology transfer issues in such publications as Journal of Biolaw and Business, Journal of Pharmaceutical Development & Regulation, Drug Discovery Today, Personalized Medicine, Nature Biotechnology, AUTM Journal and Current Drug Discovery Technology. He is also the co-author of Starting & Operating A Business in the District of Columbia and Starting & Operating A Business in West Virginia. He has received the NIH Director’s Award and six NIH Merit Awards in recognition of his activities in the management and negotiation of technology licensing agreements for the National Institutes of Health.

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Mark Frantz
(Red Shift Ventures)

Talking Points

I will talk about that technology transfer from universities, either start-ups or licensing opportunities, helps drive innovation in our country and across the globe. While good work has been done to date, the more we can do to further encourage the activities, the more likely we are to have a vibrant, robust economy for decades to come.

Bio

Mark is focused on software and media investments for RedShift Ventures and currently serves on the Board of Directors at portfolio companies Intelliworks and TerraGo Technologies. Mr. Frantz also serves on the Board of Directors at ODIN Technologies, the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) and the Commonwealth of Virginia's Research & Technology Advisory Council (VRTAC). Mark has also been an investor/advisor to New Media Strategies (acq. by Meredith Corp., NYSE - "MDP"), Sourcefire (Nasdaq - "FIRE"), Luna Innovations (Nasdaq - "LUNA") and American Teleradiology Nighthawks (acq. by Nighthawk Radiology Services, Nasdaq - "NHWK"). Mr. Frantz was previously the Managing General Partner of In-Q-Tel, the strategic venture capital affiliate of the U.S. Intelligence Community. Prior to that, Mark was with Carlyle Venture Partners, where he worked with Blackboard (Nasdaq - "BBBB"), Imagitas (acq. by Pitney Bowes, NYSE -"PBI"), ISR Solutions (acq. by Stanley Works, NYSE - "SWK"), Panasas, Grant Street Group and Secure Elements. Mr. Frantz joined Carlyle from Redleaf Ventures, where he worked with various portfolio companies including Lightningcast (acq. by AOL/TimeWarner, NYSE - "TWX"). Prior to Redleaf, he was the Associate to the Senior Chairman of Alex. Brown and he worked extensively with the Technology and Internet groups. Mark has also served as the Associate Director of The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs under President George H. W. Bush and as the economic and technology policy advisor to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, where he came up with idea for the early-stage venture capital fund that is now known as PA Early Stage Partners. Mr. Frantz is actively involved in the community, having served as the Co-Chair of the Greater Washington Board of Trade Technology Transfer Task Force, a member of the Advisory Committee on Technology Transfer to the Virginia Joint Commission on Technology & Science, Accelerating Innovation/Tech Transfer 2005, the 2002 & 2003 "Technology Transfer in the Mid-Atlantic" Steering Committee, the Chairman of the Northern Virginia Technology Council's Private Equity Committee, Co-Chair of the Program Committee for the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association ("MAVA"). Mark holds J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and a B.A. degree from Allegheny College. Mr. Frantz was an NCAA All-American swimmer at Allegheny and has qualified for the USA Triathlon National Championship eight times.

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Steve Fredrick
(Grotech Capital Group)

Talking Points

I will talk about some best practices and things to avoid when building Venture-backable University Start-ups.

Bio

Stephen M. Fredrick is a Partner with Grotech Capital Group where he focuses on investment opportunities in the software, communications and IT services sectors. Prior to joining Grotech, he was a Partner with Novak Biddle Venture Partners investing in early-stage software and communications equipment companies. Mr. Fredrick has been actively involved in funding university startups and spin-outs from federal research laboratories, having worked with twelve such efforts to date. He routinely meets with university faculty to discuss the merits and startup potential of new innovation, has successfully negotiated IP licensing arrangements with leading universities, and has lectured extensively to engineering faculty on the company building process.Mr. Fredrick co-founded a software development firm in 1994 and previously worked for a venture-funded software company which was acquired. He began his career in research and development roles at IBM where he held top secret security clearances.Mr. Fredrick was an Eastman Kodak Scholar and is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Virginia Tech where he received his BS and MS in Electrical Engineering. He served for several years as an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business and is a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship and venture investing. He has served for many years on the ECE Advisory Board at Virginia Tech.

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Keith Gillard
(BASF Venture Capital)

Talking Points

I will talk about early stage investment from a corporate/strategic viewpoint. I will also discuss other non-investment options, such as business development and joint development agreements, which can come out of a strategic relationship with or without investment.

Bio

Mr. Gillard is Principal of BASF Venture Capital America, heading BASF's North American investment center in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since beginning this position in March 2006, he has led investments into SDCmaterials LLC, Pangaea Ventures II Ltd., Luca Technologies LLC and Ultracell Corporation.Previously, Mr. Gillard was with Mitsubishi Corporation for five years, responsible for technology-related investment and business development activities in Canada, with a specific focus on cleantech. Mr. Gillard was the only non-Japanese member of the Mitsubishi Corporation Fuel Cell Business Development Office in Tokyo, and was instrumental in establishing Japanese markets and partners for several Canadian and American cleantech companies. Prior to joining Mitsubishi, Mr. Gillard began his career in investment banking, structuring mergers and acquisitions as well as technology joint ventures into China. In the late '90's, he had a five-year spell as an entrepreneur in IT, establishing three companies in succession and taking them from business plan through financing to completion of product and exit. Mr. Gillard currently sits on the boards of Chrysalix Energy Limited Partnerships I and II, Pangaea Ventures II Ltd., and Sciona Inc., is a board observer for Arcadia Biosciences Inc., Luca Technologies LLC, SDCmaterials LLC., and Ultracell Corporation. He is also a member of the selection committee of the Cleantech Venture Forum, advisory committee of the Larta Institute's Venture Forum, and the Small Times NanoCon advisory board.

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Jo Anne Goodnight
(Acting Director, Division of Special Programs, Office of Extramural Programs, National Institutes of Health - NIH)

Talking Points

The NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are the best VC deal in town --a $650 million early-stage fund with no strings attached. This session will provide an overview of the NIH SBIR/STTR programs, including ways industry and academia can develop mutually beneficial partnerships for investigators seeking to commercialize their technology innovations. This session will provide an overview of the SBIR/STTR programs and will describe how entrepreneurial researchers can tap into this funding opportunity.

Bio

Ms. Goodnight currently holds the position as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program Coordinator of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Public Health Service. She is also serving as the Acting Director for the Division of Special Programs in the Office of Extramural Research (OER). Prior to joining OER in 1999, she served in positions encompassing research, program administration and program management. During her 25 years of Government service she has held positions in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration, and now the NIH. As part of her Virginia Tech education (1978-1983), she spent four years conducting research as a Cooperative Education student at the USDA’s Animal Parasitology Institute. While at NIH, she has been a part of the Intramural Research Program and the Extramural Research Program. As an intramural research scientist (1989–1994) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), she published over 20 studies about the selective involvement of Protein Kinase C in differentiation and neoplastic transformation. In 1994, she transitioned to the NCI Extramural Research Program where she served as Special Assistant to the Director, Division of Cancer Biology and Program Director for SBIR/STTR grants that supported studies in the field of cancer biology, cancer genetics, and cancer immunology. In addition, she served as the NCI’s SBIR/STTR Program Policy Coordinator. She was appointed as the NIH/DHHS SBIR/STTR Program Coordinator in 1999 where she continues today. She was intimately involved in the development and implementation of the NIH SBIR/STTR Fast-Track Program and the SBIR/STTR Phase II Competing Renewal Award. She continues to develop other programs that assist the small business community in commercialization of their technologies. Ms. Goodnight has been an invited speaker at hundreds of SBIR/STTR Conferences. She also has provided written and oral testimony at Congressional hearings related to the reauthorization of the SBIR and STTR Programs. Her contributions to the SBIR/STTR programs and passion for helping small businesses to be successful in these programs have been acknowledged through several national awards including NIH Director’s Awards, NIH Merit Awards, and the Small Business Administration Tibbetts Award. Ms. Goodnight received a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from Virginia Tech in 1983.

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Chris Hayter
(Director, Economic Development Program, National Governors Association - NGA, Center for Best Practice)

Talking Points

I will be talking about the increasing attention that governors are giving to public-private partnerships, including with universities, to promote innovation, local university startups and entrepreneurship within and among states.

Bio

Chris Hayter is the Program Director for Economic Development at the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. Chris is staff lead for the NGA Innovation America initiative, led by GovernorJanet Napolitano of Arizona, which seeks to help governors encourage entrepreneurship, improve math and science education, and better align post-secondary education with state innovation needs. Prior to this appointment, Chris served as Research Director for the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM), where he proposed and managed research project in technology and product development, and supply chain integration. He held similar positions with both the Council on Competitiveness and the National Academies' Board on Science,Technology, and Economic Policy. Previous experiences include resort management, bartending, and teaching English in the Czech Republic. Chris is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Public Policy,completed an M.A. in International Science and Technology Policy from the George Washington University, and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Economics and Technology Policy.

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Mark Heesen
(President, National Venture Capital Association-NVCA)

Talking Points

I will give an in depth discussion of the state of the venture capital industry: where venture capitalists are investing in terms of industry, stage, and geographic preference. Why specific areas of the country have benefited from venture more than other areas. The importance of serial entrepreneurs, of a good infrastructure to grow a company, and of universities that understand tech transfer from an entrepreneur's and VC's perspective.

Bio

As President of the National Venture Capital Association, Mark Heesen is responsible for setting the strategic direction for all Association activities, including public policy efforts, research initiatives, educational programs, and member services. In this capacity, Mark works closely with the NVCA professional staff and Board of Directors to demonstrate the positive impact of venture capital investment on the United States economy. Under his direction, the NVCA has created numerous value-added sub-groups including the CFO Task Force, Strategic Communications Group, Corporate Venture Capital Group, Medical Industry Group and Human Capital forum, all of which are dedicated to supporting NVCA membership in uniquely critical areas.As a spokesperson for the venture capital industry, Mark is often called upon by the financial media, NVCA members, limited partners, and regional associations to present the overarching venture capital perspective to a wider audience. He is a frequent presenter at industry conferences, appears regularly on CNBC, and is consistently quoted in the press in stories concerning venture capital trends.Since 1991, Mark has worked on behalf of the NVCA to enact a wide range of policies that benefit the venture capital and entrepreneurial communities, including a significant capital gains differential, securities litigation reform, numerous SEC and FASB accounting issues, immigration reform, and a streamlining of the FDA and CMS approval processes, among other issues. Prior to coming to the NVCA, Mark was an aide to a former Governor of Pennsylvania and was Deputy Director for Federal Funds reporting to the Texas Legislature. Mark received a law degree with an emphasis in taxation from the Dickinson School of Law in 1984.

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Krisztina Holly
(Vice Provost and Executive Director, USC Stevens, University of Southern California)

Talking Points

I will present and discuss key learnings from my past experiences as both a serial entrepreneur and as the founding director of the Deshpande Center at MIT. My goal is to create awareness and understanding about the different motivators for VCs and academics—and how to better align them to effectively advance ideas into the market. From there, I will discuss how I have translated these experiences to create a new model for VC and university relations at USC with the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation.

Bio

Krisztina Holly is vice provost and executive director of the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation, where she works with academic units across USC to identify promising innovations and innovators, helping faculty and students make societal impact with their ideas. Reporting directly to the provost, Holly oversees a highly-qualified and growing staff with expertise spanning the business, marketing, financial, and legal implications of intellectual property management, technology licensing, and new venture creation.Holly previously served as the founding executive director of MIT's Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, a highly successful and visible program that has supported MIT faculty and students engaged in scientific and technological innovation through grants, symposia, mentoring, and other means. In the first three years, the Center provided $5M in grants, engaged over 250 faculty and students and more than 100 investors and entrepreneurs, and spawned nine startup companies that raised $40M in capital from top-tier venture capital firms. Holly earned her master's and bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT, with a focus on optics and product design. Her career as an innovator began during her undergraduate years, when she worked on a team that developed the world's first computer-generated, full-color reflection hologram at the MIT Media Lab. Soon afterwards, she designed a robotic weld-seam-tracking program for the NASA space shuttle's main engine and co-designed and built a head-eye robot used for vision research. In 1991, she and two teammates invented and patented "The Stylus," a pre-Web electronic shopping tool, and wrote a business plan for it that won MIT's campus-wide entrepreneurial competition. The resulting company, Stylus Innovation, created a new development tool called Visual Voice that revolutionized the computer telephony industry. Stylus was acquired in 1996 by Artisoft, Inc.Holly has been active in other non-profit roles as well, including serving as a board member for Entretech, judge in the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition, an advisory board member of Springboard New England, a member of the committee of visitors for the National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program, a board member of the MIT Enterprise Forum, Inc., president of the New England Mountain Bike Association, and a board member of the International Bicycling Association.

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Jim Huston
(Blue Print Ventures)

Talking Points

I will talk about the fact that university spinouts offer a great opportunity to commercialize the breakthrough inventions coming out of research institutions. But from the perspective of a VC, structuring these transactions has unique challenges in people, intellectual property rights, and the "time to money". What can universities learn from VCs who have done successful spinout transactions to overcome these challenges? I and Blueprint Ventures have a long history of doing early stage spinouts from corporations, and will address ways in which university spinouts can be launched with higher odds of success and with better alignment between the institutional investors, the founding team, and the university parent.

Bio

Jim Huston is a Managing Director with Blueprint Ventures, a technology growth capital firm which specializes in Corporate IP Spinouts. Jim brings more than 20 years of technology industry experience, having worked and invested in early stage technology companies throughout the world since 1995. Jim has extensive experience with Corporate IP Spinouts from both the corporate and venture capital perspectives. Blueprint Ventures has sourced and led spinouts from corporations such as Xerox, Brocade, Intel, Fujitsu, and NEC as well as spinouts from national labs and from universities.Previously, Jim served in numerous positions within Intel Capital, the world's largest technology venture organization. From 2002 - 2004, Jim served as the Director of Strategic IP and led Intel's IP Acquisition Fund which acquired patents and other IP for growing new businesses at Intel. From 1995 - 2001, Jim was Director of Strategic Investments for Intel Capital where he led Intel's investment in 16 companies and managed 5 investment professionals who did more than 60 investments during this time. He was directly responsible for one of Intel's earliest successful spinouts - RadiSys. He also led 9 acquisitions for and served as Intel's appointed Board Observer for 7 Intel Capital portfolio companies. Prior to joining Intel Capital in 1995 he held various marketing and general management positions in Intel's OEM PC Division, Network Products Division, and Development Systems Operation. Jim is Chairman of the Board of IntelliPath Solutions, a Blueprint portfolio company. He is on the Advisory Board of the Corporate Venture Group of the National Venture Capital Association. Jim is on the Board of Oregon Public Broadcasting. He is an adjunct professor at Portland State University's.

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Pradeep Khosla
(Dean, Carnegie Mellon University)

Bio

Pradeep Khosla received B. Tech (Hons) from IIT (Kharagpur, India), and both MS (1984) and PhD (1986) degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. He served as Asst Professor of ECE and Robotics (1986-90), Associate Professor (1990-94), and Professor (1994 - ), Founding Director (1/97-6/99) of Institute for Complex Engineered Systems (which includes the former Engineering Design Research Center - a NSF ERC). He is currently the Philip and Marsha Dowd Professor of Engineering and Robotics, and Head of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon. Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon, he worked with Tata Consulting Engineers and Siemens (1980-82) in the area of real-time control. From January 1994 to August 1996 he was on leave from Carnegie Mellon and served as a DARPA Program Manager in the Software and Intelligent Systems Technology Office (SISTO), Defense Sciences Office (DSO) and Tactical Technology Office (TTO) where he managed advanced research and development programs, with a total budget exceeding $50M in FY96, in the areas of Information based Design and Manufacturing, Web based Information Technology Infrastructure, Real-Time Planning, and Distributed AI and Intelligent Systems, Real-Time Embedded Software, Sensor-based Control, and Collaborative Robotics. Professor Khosla's research interests are in the areas of internet-enabled collaboratve design and distributed manufacturing, collaborating autonomous systems, agent-based architectures for distributed design and embedded control, software composition and reconfigurable software for real-time embedded systems, reconfigurable and distributed robotic systems, integrated design-assembly planning systems, and distributed information systems. His research is multidisciplinary and has focused on the theme of "creating complex embedded and information systems through composition of and collaboration amongst building blocks". He is involved in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Design, and Robotics education both at the graduate and the undergraduate level. He was a member of the committee that formulated a curriculum for the multidisciplinary PhD program in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon. He was also a member of the Wipe the Slate Clean Committee that created a new 4 year undergraduate ECE degree curriculum at CMU. In support of the new curriculum he developed the Introductory Freshman level course "Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering" that emphasizes the notion of Teaching in Context. Professor Khosla was the Program Vice-Chairman for the 1989 IEEE International Conference on Systems Engineering, General Chairman for the 1990 IEEE International Conference on Systems Engineering, Program Vice Chairman of the 1993 International Coference on Robotics and Automation, General Co-Chairman of the 1995 Intelligent Robotics Systems (IROS) conference, and Program Vice-Chair for the 1997 IEEE Robotics and Automation Conference. He has served as member of the AdCom of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, Technical Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, Chairman of the Education Committee of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, Professinal Activities (PACE) Chair of the Robotics and Automation Society, member of Robotics and Intelligent Machines Coordinating Council (RIMCC), member of the Long Range Planning Committee of the Robotics and Automation Society, member of the Board of Directors of The Robotics Industries Association (RIA), and member of the Board of Directors of Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative (PTEI). Professor Khosla is a recipient of the Inlaks Fellowship, United Kingdom, the Carnegie Institute of Technology Ladd award for excellence in research in 1989, ASEE 1999 George Westinghouse Award for Educayion, 2 NASA Tech Brief awards, and was elected as an IEEE Fellow in January 1995. He was appointed a Distinguished lecturer for the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society for 1998-99. Professor Khosla's research has resulted in 2 books and more than 200 journal articles, conference papers and book contributions. Professor Khosla served as a member of the Technical Advisory Board of AF-WPAFB and NASA-JPL projects. He has been an invited participant to the Department of Commerce workshops on the Intelligent Manufacuring Systems program and USA-Japan R&D consortia and collaboration, and DARPA ISAT study panels. During his tenure at DARPA he served on several panels and review committees. He is a consultant to several industries in the USA. He serves on the technology Advisory Board of Beam Inc., and is a co-founder and Chairman of the Board of K2T inc. -- a high tech company based in Pittsburgh.

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Valerie La Traverse
(Science and Technology Counsellor, Canadian Embassy)

Talking Points

There are several examples of technology collaboration and partnering between Canada and the United States and further potential to collaborate across borders. I will give a brief introduction on the innovation environment in Canada and examples of successful partnerships, including the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP), an informal collaboration process between two jurisdictions involving academic, private sector, financial and the public sectors. CCSIP enjoys the support of Canada's leading research universities and the University of California.

Bio

Valerie La Traverse is the Science and Technology Counsellor at the Canadian Embassy where she is responsible for monitoring US science policy and facilitating partnerships between Canada and the US. Valerie has held a variety of positions in and out of the public sector and her work experience has been in international business development, both on the trade and science and technology side. Before arriving at the Embassy in 2005, Valerie opened the new Canadian Consulate in Phoenix Arizona. The core of her work focused on developing a business and government contact base, forging business leads and strategic alliances, and promoting R&D collaboration and technology transfer. Prior to Arizona, Valerie managed a federal government program designed to increase access to and use of the Internet amongst small and medium-sized companies in Ontario. She also served as Executive Director of the New England-Canada Business Council, a Boston-based international trade and membership organization, from 1995 to1998. Valerie graduated with a BA in International Relations from McGill University and a MBA in International Business from Concordia University in Montreal. Upon graduation, she was recruited into the Government of Canada's Management Trainee Program and assigned to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Valerie worked in Ottawa for several years, specializing in Middle East trade and working on issues such as the creation of the Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation, the re-opening of the Canadian Embassy in Lebanon, and the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement.

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Michael Loeb
(Loeb Enterprises)

Talking Points

I will share a true story relating to an Ivy League School and their misunderstanding of entrepreneurs, and generalize that to the academic community. I will attempt to illustrate how the current academic model is not fit for budding entrepreneurs, and how it is that model - not the entrepreneur - that must change.

Bio

Michael Loeb is the founder & CEO of Loeb Enterprises. In 1992, Mr. Loeb co-founded the Synapse Group, Inc. with priceline.com founder, Jay Walker. Synapse grew to become the largest seller of consumer magazine subscriptions in the United States, leveraging its revolutionary and patented “continuous service” model to change the magazine industry. Under Mr. Loeb’s leadership, the company expanded its footprint to market DVDs, software, merchandise and trade publications through partners in six major industries, including the top US credit card issuers, catalog retailers, airline carriers, retail stores and e-commerce companies. In 2004 and again in 2005, the company was named one of the 25 “Best Places to Work in America” among medium-sized companies by the Society for Human Resource Management. In 2001, Time Warner purchased a controlling stake in Synapse for a sum in excess of $500 million, completing that transaction in 2006.

Prior to starting Synapse, Mr. Loeb was a marketing executive at Time Warner. He is an Amherst College graduate and is married to Margie, a former Senior Vice President of Time Inc. He has five children, including 9-year-old triplets.

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Cynthis McIntyre
(Chief of Staff to the President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

Talking Points

I will talk about how the successful commercialization of university intellectual property startups requires strategic alliances with investors and businesses, and how university resource commitment drives outcomes. Examples will be presented to highlight the "random walk" to success.

Bio

Cynthia McIntyre, Ph.D. is Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, Associate Vice President of Policy & Planning, Assistant Secretary to the Institute and an Associate Professor in Physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Under the leadership of Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, President of RPI, Dr. McIntyre assists in the propulsion of major initiatives set forth in the Rensselaer Plan and is responsible for the operational processes and staff in the President's office. Dr. McIntyre's career of the last 11 years has been spent primarily in the academic environment: University of California, San Diego; the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC; George Mason University; with the last three years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. A sample of Honors bestowed upon Dr. McIntyre include the M.L. King Distinguished Alumnae Award, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the MIT Karl T. Compton Award, MIT's highest award for leadership and innovative contribution as Founder of the National Conference of Black Physics Students; and the Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow Award, University of California, San Diego.

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Aris Melissaratos
(Senior Advisor to the President for Enterprise Development, Johns Hopkins University)

Talking Points

I will be discussing the cultural transformation required to gradually shift a premier research university toward a more entrepreneurial model while preserving the imperative of research excellence. This involves enhanced mentoring of entrepreneurs, new approaches to connecting inventors and venture capital, and new curriculum offerings for both undergraduate and graduate students. The integrated multi-path approach will create a much more positive feeling about commercializing technology and enhance the image of Johns Hopkins as not only a great research university but one that is open "to and for business.

Bio

Aris Melissaratos, recently joined The Johns Hopkins University as Senior Advisor to the President for Enterprise Development. Melissaratos, a 1966 Johns Hopkins graduate and longtime member of the Whiting School of Engineering's National Advisory Council, has overall responsibility for building the university's relationship with business and forging new connections between the research and corporate communities. Specific assignments include supervision of Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer, the office that links university researchers and businesses interested in commercializing their inventions. Melissaratos also markets opportunities for businesses to locate at Johns Hopkins-related research parks such as the Montgomery County Campus, the nearby Belward Research Campus and the Science + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins, now under construction as part of the comprehensive New EastSide redevelopment in East Baltimore. Melissaratos, whose undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins is in electrical engineering, spent most of his career with Westinghouse Electronics in Baltimore, eventually becoming vice president of science and technology and chief technology officer at corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh. Before joining state government in 2003 as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, he also served as vice president of Thermo Electron Corp. and founded Armel Private Equity Investments. He was a founding co-chair of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council and is a former vice president of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. He holds a master's degree in engineering management from George Washington University and did graduate work in international politics at Catholic University of America. Melissaratos also completed a program for management development at Harvard Business School.

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Stephen Merrill
(Director, National Academies' Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) Board)

Talking Points

Commercializing results of university research: a new era of experimentation implies a renewed need for evaluation.

Bio

Stephen Merrill has been Executive Director of the National Academies'* Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) since its formation in 1991. With the sponsorship of a growing number of federal government agencies, foundations, multinational corporations in various sectors, and international institutions, he has developed the STEP program into an important discussion forum and authoritative voice on technology and other microeconomic policies - technical standards, trade, taxation, human resources, regulation, and statistical as well as research and development policies. At the same time he has directed several STEP projects and publications, including Investing in Productivity and Prosperity (1994), Improving America's Schools (1995), Industrial Research and Innovation Indicators (1997), Borderline Case: International Tax Policy, Corporate Research and Development, and Investment (1997), and U.S. Industry in 2000: Studies in Competitive Performance and Securing America's Industrial Strength (1999). He is currently managing a three-year study of intellectual property policies. His analysis (with Michael McGeary) of the changing field distribution of federal research support in the 1990s appeared in the September 10, 1999, issue of Science and has been cited in numerous discussions of trends in public research and development investment.Dr. Merrill's association with the National Academies began in 1985, when he was principal consultant on the Academy report, Balancing the National Interest: National Security Export Controls and Global Economic Competition. As a consultant he also contributed to Academy studies in the areas of science policy, manufacturing, and competitiveness. In 1987 he was appointed to direct the Academies' first government and congressional liaison office, and until July 1995 he served concurrently as Executive Director of the STEP Board and the Office of Government and External Affairs. During his tenure in the latter position the Academies received a steadily increasing number of congressional requests for policy advice. Dr. Merrill holds degrees in political science from Columbia (B.A., summa cum laude), Oxford (M. Phil.), and Yale (M.A. and Ph.D.) Universities. In 1992 he attended the Senior Managers in Government Program of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. From 1989 to 1996 he was an adjunct professor of international affairs at Georgetown University.

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Kesh Narayanan
(Director, Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships, National Science Foundation - NSF)

Talking Points

The NSF fosters discovery research for innovation. In this talk, I will focus on avenues that NSF offers to move discovery to innovation. Specifically, I will address recent efforts we have undertaken to accelerate the innovation process and the role of small business in the innovation ecosystem.

Bio

Kesh Narayanan is the Director of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships Division within the Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation(NSF). Narayanan is charged with aligning the energy and inventiveness of small business with the unparalleled capabilities of university researchers in the United States to discover new knowledge to the ultimate benefit of our citizens, their security, and economic well-being. Narayanan was the chief scientist at Certainteed. Previously, as the R&D director of the Norton Abrasives Business, he led the worldwide introduction of new products, with a track record of identifying and developing new products accounting for more than 25% of total sales. His R&D group is credited with over thirty patents. Narayanan received his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and BTech in Metallurgical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

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Bruce Robertson
(H.I.G. Ventures)

Talking Points

I will speak about the unique technology transfer challenges confronted by university scientists and tech transfer offices, VC's, and companies in the life sciences sector.

Bio

Bruce Robertson is a Managing Director of H.I.G. Ventures and focuses on investment opportunities in the life sciences sector, including biopharmaceuticals and medical devices. Bruce is currently on the board of CardioFocus and serves as Chairman of the Board for Metastatix. He also recently served on the boards of IntraPace, Pepgen, and CGI Pharma (observer). Bruce has been active in the life sciences sector for 20 years. Prior to joining H.I.G., Bruce served most recently as Managing Director at Toucan Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund in Maryland, focusing on life science investments. While at Toucan, Bruce invested in leading drug and device companies throughout the U.S. Prior to Toucan, Bruce was a General Partner at GIV Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on early stage investments in the US, India, and China. Prior to his venture capital career, Bruce was Director of Business Development at IGEN International, where he was responsible for formulating and implementing IGEN's partnering and M&A strategies. Bruce started his career as a Research Manager at W.R. Grace & Co., focusing on medical devices. Bruce is on the boards of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, the Georgia Biomedical Partnership, Shady Grove Hospital, the BioLife Fund of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, and the University of Delaware Research Foundation. Bruce holds a BSE in Chemical Engineering and BA in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania, a PhD in Chemical/Biomedical Engineering from the University of Delaware, and an MBA with from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar.

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Ambassador Richard Russell
(Associate Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President of the United States)

Talking Points

My remarks will focus on the roles of the Federal Government and universities in encouraging innovation. Over the past thirty years, many new technologies in the information technology and telecommunications fields have been transformed from Government-funded, university-based research projects into mainstream consumer products. In many cases, the vital link in this process has been entrepreneurial innovation backed by venture capital. This is part of a larger process involving dynamic, complex interactions among the private sector, universities, the Federal Government, State governments, and the marketplace.

Bio

On May 18, 2007 the President appointed Richard M. Russell the United States Ambassador to the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) in Geneva, Switzerland. The WRC is convened every three to four years under the auspices of the United Nation's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to review and revise the international treaty governing the use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits. The 2007 WRC will be held between October 22 and November 16. Until June of 2007, Ambassador Russell also served as Senior Director for Technology and Telecommunications for the National Economic Council. In that capacity he coordinated technology and telecommunications policy for the White House.Ambassador Russell began his tenure in the Bush Administration in 2001 as OSTP's Chief of Staff. He also worked on the Presidential Transition Teams for the Department of Commerce, National Science Foundation and OSTP.Until June of 2007, Ambassador Russell also served as Senior Director for Technology and Telecommunications for the National Economic Council. In that capacity he coordinated technology and telecommunications policy for the White House.Ambassador Russell began his tenure in the Bush Administration in 2001 as OSTP's Chief of Staff. He also worked on the Presidential Transition Teams for the Department of Commerce, National Science Foundation and OSTP.In 1988 he earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Yale University.

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Jonathan Silver
(Core Capital Partners)

Talking Points

I will identify where VC and university interests are in sync and where they diverge as a framework for thinking about how to design a spinout/transfer program.

Bio

Mr. Jonathan Silver is the Founder and the Managing Director at Core Capital Partners. Prior to forming the firm, he was the President at Commonwealth Holdings, Inc. Earlier Mr. Silver was a Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Tiger Management. He was a Member of Tiger's Management Committee and led the firm's investments in the media and communications industries, and, as the Chief Operating Officer, was responsible for the firm's advanced technology and administrative functions. During his time at the firm, assets under management grew to $7 billion. Prior to joining Tiger, Mr. Silver was an Executive Vice President of John Blair Communications where he was responsible for administration, finance, planning, and business development. He was also the Chief Operating Officer at Tucker Communications. Mr. Silver began his business career as an Associate at McKinsey and Company and worked on planning, acquisition, and operating efficiency issues for Fortune 500 companies and global financial institutions. He has also held a number of senior positions in the public and private sector. Mr. Silver served as a Senior Policy Advisor to both the United States Secretary of Commerce and the United States Secretary of the Interior. Separately, he served as a Special Advisor to the United States Secretary of the Treasury in developing a lending facility for Mexico. Mr. Silver served as a Senior Advisor to the United Nations Scientific, Educational, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) delegation to the United Nations and as a delegate to the International Labor Conferences in Geneva. He is on the Board of EarthSat Corporation, Quantum Photonics, RulesPower, CorrFlex Graphics, Ecutel, Sourcefire, Core Communications, RulesPower, buySafe, Newsletters.com, Infinite Power Solutions, Inc., and Infotech Strategies. Mr. Silver is also a Member of Investment Committee at The New Markets Growth Fund. He has been actively involved in non-profit work as well and his non-profit Board participation has included membership on the Boards of the Federation of American Scientists, American Forests, the Federal City Council, People for the American Way, the Baltimore-Washington Venture Group, the Arena Stage Theatre, and the Washington Area Community Foundation. Mr. Silver chaired the President's Non-Profit Liaison Network. He is a columnist for the American City Business Journals and an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Mr. Silver is an honors graduate of Harvard University and holds a graduate degree in Public Policy from the Institute of Political Studies in Paris. In addition, he did Doctoral coursework at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva while on a Fulbright Fellowship.

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Tony Stanco
(Director, National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer - NCET2.org)

Talking Points

While a senior attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission, I worked on how angel investors can provide seed and early stage capital to fill the funding gap. I'll talk about how university-affiliated angel groups, especially alumni angel groups, can help both create and fund university startups and provide a quality dealflow pipeline to VCs and the Fortune 500 for further funding or successful exits.

Bio

Tony Stanco, Esq. is the executive director of the Angel Investors of Greater Washington, executive director of the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer, and the director of the Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer and Commercialization (CET2C) of The George Washington University. Mr. Stanco was a senior attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he worked on more than two hundred IPOs. He also has worked on innovation policy, including start-up creation and funding by angel investors and VCs. At School of Engineering and Applied Science at The George Washington University, Mr. Stanco works with universities and governments around the world on innovation policy, start-up finance policy, software policy, Open Source, cyber-security, and e-Government issues. Mr. Stanco has appeared before the US Congress, various US defense and civilian agencies, the World Bank, the European Commission, United Nations, Inter-American Development Bank, Organization of American States, World Summit on Information Society, LinuxWorld, Advanced Computer and Internet Law Institute, and International Computer Law Association. Mr. Stanco teaches the Lab to IPO course dealing with start-up formation and funding. He has an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in securities regulation and is licensed as a lawyer in New York state.

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Tom Sweeney
(Garage Technology Ventures Canada and Chair, Cross-Border VC & IP Working Group, Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership Initiative)

Talking Points

I will discuss cross-border VC and IP issues examined as a result of his work on the CCSIP and give other examples of cross-border investing.

Bio

Tom Sweeney has over 25 years of experience working with and evaluating emerging technologies and innovation in the international arena. His professional career includes leading two technology companies as CEO; management consulting with a global firm working from the Silicon Valley region; and classified work evaluating emerging technologies and command & control systems for the Canadian, American and other NATO governments while serving as an F-18 fighter pilot in Europe. He has lived and worked extensively in Western Europe and in the United States. For the three years prior to co-founding Garage, Mr. Sweeney was the Managing Director & CEO of Accel Ventures LP, a firm specialized in strategic consulting and venture advisory services for emerging companies in the IT, Internet, medical device, clean technology and advanced materials sectors. Prior to moving to Montreal, Mr. Sweeney was the CEO of Classwave Wireless Inc, a Toronto and London (UK) based company that launched the first SIP-based server platform for delivering voice calls and web-enabled data to mobile devices through Bluetooth and 802.x wireless access points. The company's investors included Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Mr. Sweeney was selected as a finalist for the Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000. Prior to Classwave, Mr. Sweeney worked in San Francisco and New York with Mitchell Madison Group - a global management consulting firm servicing Fortune 500 technology, financial services and healthcare corporations. His work included projects that defined the triple-play and e-business strategies for leading multinational corporations. MMG was acquired by US Web. Mr. Sweeney was the CEO and Founder of Abilon Inc., a Montreal and New York based Web application development company that was amongst the first companies in North America to develop business-to-business applications that dynamically accessed databases over IP networks. Abilon's international clients included Nine West and MicroAge, for which it won distinction from the Gartner Group, a leading market research firm, for early B2B innovation prior to the company being acquired. After graduating summa cum laude from the Royal Military College as Cadet Wing Commander, Mr. Sweeney's career began as a fighter pilot in Europe, where he flew the Starfighter and F-18 aircraft. He was selected to be the Canadian representative to a US operational intelligence organization and was a NATO-certified command and control evaluation officer for European air wing operations. Mr. Sweeney was the first Canadian senior officer to assume responsibility for the operational functionality and performance of the avionics, communications, countermeasures and weapon systems on board the F-18, the results of which were used successfully in the Gulf War. He retired as a major responsible for the tactical evaluations of the Canadian Air Forces overseas and as a NATO force package leader. He is fluent in English, French and German.

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Timothy Tong
(Dean, George Washington University)

Talking Points

I will discuss the convergence of alumni development, entrepreneurship, economic development, and fund raising; how these activities are synergistic to one another; and how the GW School of Engineering and Applied Science is approaching to provide a common thread to these activities.

Bio

Timothy W. Tong joined The George Washington University in September 2000 as dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Prior to his current appointment, he oversaw the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University. A specialist in heat transfer, Tong has spent more than two decades as an influential researcher, scholar, and teacher in engineering. He spent a year as director of the National Science Foundation's Thermal Transport and Thermal Processing program. A faculty member from 1986 to 1996 at Arizona State University, Tong received three consecutive Teacher of the Year awards from the Pi Tau Sigma honor society, and served his final three years as acting director of the university's Center for Systems Research.Born and raised in Hong Kong, Tong received his BS in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University in 1976 and his MS and PhD in the same discipline from the University of California at Berkeley in 1978 and 1980. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

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Jack Turner
(Associate Director, MIT)

Talking Points

I will draw attention to some myths of university technology transfer and counter these with my sense of reality. I'll identify what I see as the factors contributing successful university tech transfer and follow with the "stress points" I've seen in working with venture capital firms considering investment in start-ups based on university technology.

Bio

Mr. Turner joined the M.I.T.'s Technology Licensing Office (TLO) in February of 1993 after working for more than twenty-five years in engineering and senior management positions at three, Boston-area, high-technology companies. The TLO manages the intellectual property belonging to M.I.T. In the course of a year, the TLO typically reviews approximately 550 technology disclosures, seeks patent protection for over 250 inventions, and negotiates more than 100 license agreements. Following his graduation for M.I.T. (Electrical Engineering, 1966), Mr. Turner spent ten years with the Equipment Division of the Raytheon Company. As Operations Manager for the 440L over-the-horizon radar early warning system, Mr. Turner directed the daily operation of transmitter and receiver sites in the Far East and Europe from a correlation center in northern Italy. On his return from Italy, he became the Manager of Weather Radar Programs in the Equipment Division's Advanced Development Laboratory.In 1976, Mr. Turner left Raytheon to become Vice President of Engineering and subsequently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Metritape, Inc., a small, early-stage company providing precision liquid-level gauging systems for very large tanks, especially the marine tanker industry. Mr. Turner continued to serve on Metritape's Board of Directors until the company was acquired by Consilium Marine AB (Sweden) in January of 1996.After six years with Metritape, Mr. Turner joined the founding team of the Controlonics Corporation to lead the engineering organization in the development of Whistler-brand radar detectors, voice scramblers, two-way radio accessories, telephone accessories, and infrared communications devices. Following the acquisition of Controlonics by the Dynatech Corporation (1984), as Vice President, Operations, in addition to product development responsibility, Mr. Turner managed a manufacturing organization with two facilities in the United States and engineering and manufacturing groups in Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

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Vivek Wadhwa
(Columnist, Business Week and Executive in Residence/Adjunct Professor, Duke University)

Talking Points

Globalization poses a new threat to U.S. competitiveness. While we struggle to get our facts straight on current trends, another wave is emerging - one that may take innovation and design from the U.S. to foreign shores. I am a tech executive and BusinessWeek.com columnist who has been researching the trend at Duke University. I will discuss my Business Week articles and research findings on why universities have to rapidly evolve their system for commercializing research.

Bio

Vivek Wadhwa is a technology entrepreneur on sabbatical. He is currently Executive in Residence/Adjunct Professor for the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, where he helps students better prepare for the real world, lectures in classes and leads groundbreaking research into globalization and the U.S. competitive advantage. He is an advisor to various start-up companies and a regular columnist for BusinessWeek.com. Wadhwa's research at Duke University has focused on the impact of globalization and outsourcing on the engineering profession, the competitive threat from India and China, and one of America's greatest advantages - its skilled immigrants. This research has received worldwide attention and acclaim. Mr. Wadhwa holds an MBA from New York University and a B.A. in Computing Studies from the Canberra University in Australia. He is founding president of the Carolinas chapter of The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TIE), a non-profit global network intended to foster entrepreneurship. He has been featured in thousands of articles in worldwide publications including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Washington Post, New York Times and U.S. News and World Report. He has also made many appearances on U.S. and international TV stations including CNN, ABC, NBC, CNBC and the BBC.

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Ross Wallace
(Director, Corporate Strategy, MaRS, Toronto)

Talking Points

I will discuss one outcome of the CCSIP which involves MaRS, the creation of the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium, which will coordinate and fund cancer stem cell research of both Canada and California researchers, universities and private industry.

Bio

Ross Wallace coordinates MaRS relations and collaboration with all levels of government, regional and international partners as well as other key stakeholders. Located in Toronto, MaRS is a convergence innovation centre dedicated to accelerating the commercialization of new ideas and new technologies by fostering the coming together of capital, science and business. MaRS is fuelling the drive to success by building a commercialization community that accelerates technology transfer, increases capital flows, and boosts the number of Canadian companies dominating global markets. MaRS will build on the innovation legacy of an unparalleled provincial network of universities, colleges, hospitals and research consortia, and construct a web of alliances and partnerships to accomplish its goals. Ross joined MaRS after completing his MBA at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Before attending Rotman, he worked as the executive editor of Corporate Knights, Canada’s first corporate social-responsibility magazine, helping create partnerships with stakeholders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Ross spent almost five years in Washington, D.C., working for the G7 Group, an economic and political consulting company, and for the Canadian Embassy assisting Canadian companies liaise with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. He is a senior member of Canada25, a national non-profit, non-partisan public policy organization, and has received a Masters in Public Administration from Queen’s University.

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Jura Zibas
(Super Angel, Stanford Phelps)

Talking Points

As an investor working with one high net worth individual, I will discuss our decisionmaking process, working with other investors and structuring deals to meet the demands of the high net worth individual.

Bio

Ms. Zibas oversees operations and selection of companies for the portfolio of a family office. In addition, Ms. Zibas is currently overseeing the transformation of Clear Springs, an 18,000-acre property located in Central Florida focused on economic development.Ms. Zibas has assisted in the business growth for a wide variety of companies including those in the medical, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. This is concurrent with Clear Springs' initiative to offer senior management guidance to companies focusing on areas such as technology transfer, biological and life sciences, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Ms. Zibas has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Newcomb College of Tulane University, attended Ohio State University College of Dentistry and earned a law degree from Capital University. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. She serves on the Polk Works Board, WEC and sits on the Board of Trustees for the Creative Education Foundation. Ms. Zibas has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Newcomb College of Tulane University, attended Ohio State University College of Dentistry and earned a law degree from Capital University. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. She serves on the Polk Works Board, WEC and sits on the Board of Trustees for the Creative Education Foundation.